Leo the Lion engages the fans during the opening ceremony of the new refurbished BC Place Stadium for the Lions-Edmonton Eskimos CFL game on Sept. 30, 2011, one of two occasions so far that the Lions have played in the renovated facility with the roof off.

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METRO VANCOUVER — Owner Jim Irsay demanded and got a retractable roof for Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, so that the city could one day play host to a Super Bowl.

In the end, taxpayers picked up the extra cost — just as they did at renovated BC Place Stadium — and just like Vancouver, the retractable roof remains a source of controversy in the Hoosier state. It remains closed, even if there is a minimal chance of precipitation occurring.

The determination as to whether the Lucas roof is open or closed is made by the Colts, 90 minutes before kickoff. In Vancouver, Lions president Dennis Skulsky, GM Wally Buono and Howard Crosley, the general manager of BC Place, huddle at 4 p.m., on the day of the game, to decide if the flip-top lid should be sprung, or be left in its resting position.

“If the team wants it closed, we’ll leave it closed,” Crosley said. “I know Wally would prefer it closed, but he and Dennis are also cognizant that our guests want a certain level of comfort. And, on a good day, we need to leave it open.”

On Friday, when the Lions play the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in their second home game of the 2012 CFL season, there really is no need to stick a wet finger in the air and determine the course of action. Because the meteorologists are predicting clear skies and warming temperatures, the decision whether or not to open the stadium’s most prominent feature is moot.

Even so, some/many Lions fans prefer that the retractable roof remain open, even during indifferent or threatening weather, so they can take in the true fan experience of open-air football. Otherwise, what was the point of spending extra multimillions for a retractable roof in the first place?

“We’re not trying to tick people off by keeping the roof closed,” Buono explained Thursday, following a Lions’ walk-through practice at the dome. “[But] we’re also creating an environment to win. People aren’t coming here to sit and look outside at the sun or the sky. They’re coming here to see the B.C. Lions win.”

Since the Lions returned to their renovated digs last September, the dome has been open for only one league game, that being the Sept. 30 debut game last year against the Eskimos.

Buono maintains it’s his first priority “to create an environment where the football team can win.” His secondary consideration, which some fans think should be first, is “to enhance the fan experience. And winning enhances the fan experience.”

The June 13 pre-season contest last month against the Saskatchewan Roughriders is the only other occasion, outside the Sept. 30 debut evening, when Lions fans have watched a football game alfresco at BC Place. Fans at last Friday’s home opener against Winnipeg, among them a pending Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Burnaby Joe Sakic, complained that the lid was kept on, even though there was a possibility of rain in the forecast.

“It was warm inside, and it would have been nice to see the roof open,” Sakic told Team 1040.

Sakic’s was just an idle, off-hand comment made during a radio interview, but others were more pointed in their criticism, blaming the football team for keeping the lid shut to enjoy a competitive advantage. Indeed, it became evident the Blue Bombers game plan had called for a “no-huddle offence” as a way to counteract the distracting decibel level in an anticipated sealed environment.

Buono is aware of and sensitive to the calls for a more open-dome policy, but he maintains there was no choice but to keep it shut last week. When humidity in the stadium started to build, Crosley’s stadium engineers hurriedly opened louvered windows and started fans to create a limited degree of comfort.

“We got caught by a weather forecast which said rain would start at 8-9 p.m. and continue for 48 hours,” Crosley explained. “We thought it would be too risky. And we were a little overcautious.”

“My sense is, when the weather forecast says there’s a possibility of rain that evening, we have to make an educated decision,” he said. “Is it 9 o’clock, is it 10 o’clock, is it 11 o’clock? If we make a mistake, and we leave it open, and it’s raining at 8:30, are we smart? So, if it starts raining at 10:15, should you criticize us?”

The Lions’ GM has little choice to make this week, however, with the weather gods finally gazing kindly upon Vancouver. But on football nights, if given a choice, he’d just as soon see it pour and have the lid not move an inch.

“I’d love to have every home game be raining in Vancouver,” Buono said, with a chuckle.

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